Yoga Status As 9th Year Begins

Bob Crowther (67) comments on both daily yoga sessions, his recent nutrition and articles by Canadian journalist Julia Belluz on metabolism research including her experiences in a metabolic chamber. 

 FOCUS
ON
 WHOLE BODY MOBILITY & NUTRITION 

Compass Pose

September (2015)
Morning Session With Patty Tremblay
In
The Yoga Loft

Demonstrating 
Deep Hip, Leg Joint Range of Motion
And
Shoulder & Arm Muscle Flexibility
[Still Seeking To Keep Back Flatter]

Compass Pose 
Frequently Added To Evening Sessions
An Excellent Asana To Prepare For Forward Splits

 Two Daily Yoga Sessions

I have continued my yoga at home to maintain and enhance whole body mobility since my last post.

My normal routine was briefly modified during a brief trip to Maryland in June to attend, celebrate the wedding of Julie and Kyle.

Morning Yoga 

I began my yoga sessions earlier these past months, often starting at 4:00 am, currently selecting 24 asanas to allow muscles, connective tissues to lengthen, joints to function with full range of motions.

As in the past, a primary emphasis was to have my spine move in forward, backward, sideways and twisting directions without experiencing any discomfort or pain - goals that have been met. 

Use of straps facilitated shoulder girdle movements and included Figure 8's. Two deep prone shoulder postures helped me transition into my sitting Gomukhasana: clasping hands behind my back, elbows up and down - effective motions to maintain flexibility.

Variations of Standing Forward Bend, Malasana, Upavistha and Butterfly have facilitated my Tortoise Pose every morning - sitting with knees up and easily moving hands under both legs, grasping hands behind my back, head on mat near joined soles of feet - a significant demonstration of my mobility maintenance that continues to be appreciated, satisfying. 

I also further modified my customized routine since May to focus on bending my spine backwards.

One effective sequence included the following asanas: leaning backwards from Virasana on a yoga block at different heights before having back on mat in Supta Virasana with arms extended, knees together and transitioning to Cobra into Bow Pose to a kneeling alternate Cat-Cow Pose moving spine up, down into a deep Camel Pose, hands on feet, insteps flat and into a modified Upper Facing Bow using two yoga blocks at stairs.

Supta Virasana

(March, 2016)

Demonstrating
Whole Body Mobility
Involving

Joints

Ankles, Knees, Hips, Spine, Shoulders, Elbows

And

Lengthening Of Muscles

Including

Feet, Upper Leg Quads, Back, Abs, Chest 

My right lower to mid back was usually more restricted than both quads each morning but the muscles and connective tissues gradually did lengthen using a block at different heights transitioning from Virasana to Supta Virasana. 

Each morning I select from a number of balance poses (including Tree, Half Lotus, Eagle, Leg Extensions) and recently have added Warrior III using a chair to provide arm support with my leg extended to reduce lower back strain.

Evening Yoga

I significantly changed my evening yoga sessions to: 

• include a wider diversity but fewer number of asanas - frequently between 10 - 20 
• hold each posture longer to experience enhance mobility 

Standing Forward Bends with a shoulder stretch, arms parallel to the floor, a Malasana leaning forward, feet and head towards, on mat and Two Leg Forward Extension with head on mat frequently preceded Upavistha with my torso leaning forward over legs and towards the mat with, without sandbags and, at times, with a deep shoulder stretch.

This above sequence followed by Modified Pigeon Pose with chest over bent forward leg at 90 degrees and basic & modified Compass Pose prepare me well to doing long Forward Splits using two yoga blocks, moving my torso upright or forward with chest over each leg with quads on mat.

Frog Pose with abs touching mat, legs wide and Double Pigeon Pose with head touching mat were often done with basic, modified Half and Full Lotus movements.

Locust Pose (basic and variations) further opened my back and complemented my Bridge Poses using a yoga block under both thoracic and lumbar-sacral areas of my spine. 

Lunge On Fingertips

(February, 2016)

In The Yoga Loft With Patty

Demonstrating
Elevated Torso, Head
Good Leg Extension
 But
 Knee Sagging Sightly
[I Do Lunge With And Without Blocks]

Lunge frequently prepared me for three additional asanas: for Extended Lateral Angle with and without yoga blocks, Revolved Lateral Angle with elbows up, down and the more challenging transition to Bound Pose - arm positioned around knee, under thigh and clasping hands behind back, raising torso and twisting deeply.

Moving both arms around each upright knee and clasping hands in all four positions of Marichyasana continues to be an effective way to rotate by spine and associated muscles, connective tissues.

Extra time continued to be required to open my right palm compromised by Dupuytren's Contracture to avoid injury from applied pressure with Downdog, Plank, Side Plank, Chaturanga, Crow and Eight Angles asanas - the Chaturanga and Crow Pose being the most challenging having to lean forward. 

Being able to execute various balance poses including the more challenging 'Bird of Paradise' and the Torso Twist with Arm & Leg Extensions (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana) were frequently evaluated to monitor my mobility, muscle strength and controlled breathing.


Achieving balance with elevated leg lifts in the 'Bird of Paradise' required frequent practice during each week - not surprisingly, at times my efforts were humbling.

Ray Hoyt Massage

I did appreciate the opportunity on July 15th to have Ray use his skills to further open my back, other muscles & connective tissues and acknowledge, extend thanks for his generous offer.

This timely massage by Ray provided additional evidence my home yoga activities using yoga blocks have been effective to experience mobility without discomfort or pain. 

Ray's roles as instructor, bodywork specialist over many years were most responsible for me to realize whole body mobility, especially back bending at the wall ladders, over two chairs as shown below.

Assisted 

Backbending

Chairs
Effective
Yoga Loft Props

Among my most valued memories were on those special occasions in Ray's class when he lifted my torso and curved my spine further while having both feet and my head & forearms in contact with the floor with the assistance of others. 

Approaches To Nutrition

Eating small, home prepared meals combining nutrient-rich food sources has been a practice I have followed since my last blog post in May.

Recording my weight daily has been useful to monitor fluctuations and to provide feedback I used to make decisions on what, how much to eat. 

Likewise, a digital counter scale was used to weigh small quantities of food ingredients for most meals and, more recently, small snacks.

Maintaining a food log of what I consume has been another useful approach to help meet and maintain short and long term nutrition, weight objectives. 

As in the past, I have continued to combine raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, various grains, some dairy, seafood and, on occasions, small amounts of meat - consciously limiting quantities of salt, processed sugars eaten daily. 

Drinking water throughout each day remained a priority and helped to keep me hydrated. Coffee was enjoyed black in limited amounts.

October Morning Meal

Enjoying

Green Beans, Sauerkraut/Pickle
Tomato, Onion
Pepper, Leek, Rainbow Carrots
Blueberries, Goji Berries

With
Trader Joe's
 Super Seed And Ancient Grain Blend

And
Arcade Snacks
Chia, Flax, Hemp, Sunflower Seeds
Cacao Nibs, Pepitas

Organic Mango, Trader Joe's Muesli, Organic Peppers, Protein Bread and Norwegian Crackers (Crispbread) have been among the new foods consumed during the past four months.

Arcade Snacks in Auburn, MA continued to be the primary source of the nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews among others), seeds (including chia, flax, hemp, sunflower) and some dried fruits (medjool dates, goji berries) I consumed at multiple times each day.

An awareness, appreciation that what has been effective daily nutrition practices for me to date would not be appropriate for others is reflected in recent articles on metabolism and the 'metabolic chamber' by the Canadian journalist Julia Belluz published in Vox.

Focus On Metabolism 
Calories Are The Energy Of Food

The French word calorie is derived from the Latin calor meaning 'to heat'; calories are determined using a calorimeter: an instrument for measuring the amount of heat generated from burning some matter - for our purpose, think food. *

A small calorie (cal) is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius; a large calorie (kilocarie or kcal) is energy required to raise 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree. * 

* Sources
 Cambridge Dictionary, Etymonline
 Medical News Today]

Foods we eat (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) contain calories that are broken down by complex chemical reactions (metabolic pathways) in all of our cells - to biologists a process known as 'cellular respiration.'

The energy from our food sources derived from breaking chemical bonds support the diverse cells of our bodies organized as tissues and organs.

Energy required daily are accounted for within the three categories noted below:

 Basal Metabolism (For Basic Body Functions)

Food Breakdown ("Thermic Effect Of Food")

Diverse Physical Activities

Of the three, for most people resting metabolism accounts for most energy expenditures (65% to 80%) with food breakdown (10%) and physical activity (10% - 30%) based on a citation of data for an average young adult male and female presented in Julia's recent September 4, 2018 article. 

Metabolic rates, recognized as being slow or fast, are:

• different in males and females 
• decreased with age but we do not know why
• specific for different tissues and organs, for example: muscle, brain & liver metabolism is higher than in the kidney, digestive system 
• not significantly increased with so-called 'boosters'  
• possible to lower with large weight loss (see comments below re: The Biggest Loser study

Answers to explain why individual variation in metabolism exists and other metabolism questions currently are, have been evaluated for over a decade using a sensitive and expensive technology: the metabolic chamber.

The Metabolic Chamber
[Whole Room Calorimeter]

Julia Belluz described her experiences, shared data using one of the best tools now available to investigators for understanding metabolism - a metabolic chamber - at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Julia spent 24 hours in a small, presumably airtight room (11' X 11.5') with a "fixed volume" of oxygen and carbon dioxide "as a normal weight "control" subject in an obesity phenotyping study"* to monitor "minute-to-minute measurements" of metabolism at rest, exercising, eating at "prescribed intervals" - every calorie she used was being measured. 

 [Julia is 34, 5'9", weight in 150's, Normal BMI]

* Google for technical definition, details 

Meals were served through separate airlock portals; calories eaten and those from leftovers were recorded.

The chamber, having an exercise bike, toilet and bed, is a sensitive instrument designed "to detect subtle shifts in energy expenditure - as little as a 1.5 to 2 percent change over 24 hours" in various studies focused on questions about "weight problems, obesity and diabetes."  

[The author noted another measure of metabolic rate: using water containing deuterium and oxygen-18 found in urine - an assay that can only detect a 5 percent change over seven to ten days]

Belluz mentioned a metabolic cart inside the chamber was used to measure her metabolic rate while "awake but not physically active" and "before eating anything". 

Collecting Data For Analysis

Julia documented all her activities - "standing and reading, lying down, on the bike" - in a log: all were complemented with video recordings.

Blood samples were provided, her heart was monitored and three accelerometers on her wrist, waist and ankle recorded movements.

Investigators can determine metabolic rates of individuals by measuring oxygen consumed and carbon dioxide released using gas analyzers - from calories burned associated with resting metabolism,  food breakdown and all physical activities.

Equations using the values for both oxygen and carbon dioxide enable investigators "to calculate calories burned and what type of fuel (protein fat, carbohydrate) was oxidized."

Julia's metabolic data continued to be collected after leaving the metabolic chamber: daily urine samples for a week while still wearing all three accelerometers.

Some results of Julia's evaluation in the metabolic chamber indicated:

• most of her energy expenditure was directed to basal metabolism
• she consumed 1,850 calories of the 2,250 provided 
• calories burned distribution: 18% protein, 36% fat, 46% carbs
• being awake used only a few more calories than sleeping
• her physical activity was only 17% of total calories used
• biomarkers (heart rate, cholesterol, blood pressure) were excellent

Julia also underestimated her calorie consumption when providing information to the nutritionist about her eating during the past year. 

Other Highlights from Julia's Articles*

 Using

 The Metabolic Chamber

>> One noteworthy study cited by Julia has examined how body fat is metabolized by individuals on "a high-fat and low-carb ketogenic diet, compared to a higher-carb diet" 

• Investigators evaluated 17 overweight and obese patients over two months under controlled conditions

• A baseline diet based on what calories patients reported eating before the study began lasted for a month followed by a second month on a diet with similar calories and protein but with elevated fats, lower carbs - measuring insulin levels, fat loss eating lower carbs

• Data led to interpretation, conclusions that carbs were not the "magic key to weight and fat loss"and contrary to claims by others over many years in various books, articles, interviews

It was suggested "diets heavy in carbohydrates (especially refined grains and sugars) leads to weight gain because of a specific mechanism: Carbs drive up insulin in the body, causing the body to hold on to fat and suppress calorie burn."

• This study has attracted attention and generated discussions, criticisms over data interpretations - its validity further questioned by design flaws, the absence of specific controls. 

I am reading more on this topic from various perspectives and looking forward to further inquiries testing the "carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis." 

>> Data from the Biggest Loser study demonstrated "that crash dieting can permanently slow a person's metabolic rate, leading them to hang on to the calories they were eating for longer" 

• Measurements (body weight, fat, metabolism, hormones) were taken at the end of 30 weeks and again, six years later 

• After six years, 13 of 14 regained weight lost during the initial 30 weeks, 4 were heavier than when they started 

• Metabolism of individuals had slowed down, burning on average about 500 fewer calories, despite gaining weight once lost

• Leptin* levels in the bloodstream of participants were significantly lowered - they were "hungry all the time" (Note: weight loss from surgical procedures did not have decreased leptin levels]

        *Leptin is one of hormones controlling hunger 

• A complete understanding why these people have a slower metabolic rate remains elusive

Data from other studies resulting in more gradual patient weight loss did not demonstrate the slow metabolism as seen in the Biggest Loser. 

Seeking Answers

 To 
Basic Metabolism Questions

I quote the author's words - we do not know why:

[1] two people with the same size and body composition have different metabolic rates

[2] people can have different metabolic responses to weight gain (where some people with obesity develop insulin resistance and diabetes, for example, and others don't)

[3] certain ethnic groups - African Americans, South Asians - have a higher risk of developing metabolic disorders like diabetes 

[4] people with diabetes have a higher cardiovascular disease risk

We also do not understand "how the brain knows what the body weighs and, therefore, the mechanism that controls our metabolic rate."

Takeaway

"The big theme in many of these studies: Our metabolism silently shifts under new conditions and environments in ways we're not usually aware of" 

Do share your thoughts on this topic of metabolism with me.

*Julie Belluz   Vox Articles

[1] What I learned about weight loss from spending a day inside a metabolic chamber (September 4, 2018)

[2] Most of us misunderstand metabolism. Here are 9 facts to clear that up (September 4, 2018)

[3] We've long blamed carbs for making us fat. What if that's wrong? (February 20, 2018)

Botanical Wonder

Two Sunflowers, One Stem
(October, 2018)

Visit
The 
Booklovers Gourmet
55 East Main Street, Webster, MA
(bookloversgourmet.com)

Owner Deb Horan's business was established in 1995 

Enjoy monthly displayed artwork, Access to Wi-Fi 

Browse her diverse new and used book (hardcover, paperback) selections for children, teens, adults

Have a hot or cold drink with a homemade pastry - look at diversity of available coffee blends and teas, chocolates, granola, honey 

Among others, available gift items for sale include: selections of cards, music, movies, jewelry, scarfs, soaps, pottery, soaps, aromatherapy oils, candles, signs, journals, bookmarks and various children's puzzles, educational toys

Scheduled events during each month may include book discussion meetings, writers group, author book signings, music events, poetry readings and more

This Fall I have enjoyed a pumpkin biscotti with coffee, many conversations 

#BobCrowther #Nutrition #Yoga